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Sunday, 16 March 2014

Is Unsolicited Advice Good For Organisational Trust?

. It happens to all of us. At the work-place, when we are in a
difficult situation, our stress level increases. We feel so tense, and we don’t
know what to do? Our enthusiasm wanes, and we feel the need of someone who can
help us. Due to our ego levels, we don’t feel the need to seek anyone’s advice.
An office colleague who gives us unsolicited advice gives us relief. But, we
don’t know to what extent we should trust this unsolicited advice?

People who give
unsolicited advice in organizations, do so due to following reasons;

Genuine concern for the growth of the
employees, ir-respective of hierarchy positions. So, trustworthiness of this
category of people is more. They evoke trust from people to whom they give
unsolicited advice.

People at higher hierarchy levels feel that
they are more powerful. They are status conscious, so they feel that giving
unsolicited advice is their natural right.

At the
work-place ,unsolicited advice may be primarily related to your work, but, in
some cases, unsolicited advice may be related to your behavior, attitude, personal life, personal
relationships, etc. When someone gives you unsolicited advice, you should;

Accept it with an open mind. Say ‘thank you’
to your superior, or even a person who is lower to your rank.

If the advice is related to your style of
functioning, work deficiencies, etc , then you should explore the matter by
asking clarifications from the person giving unsolicited advice. Listen
patiently, without any ego, and with an attitude to learn.

Develop your wisdom in such a way that you are able to assess the genuineness of the
advice. In some cases, genuine unsolicited advice stems from a since desire of
a person who wants you to explore your potentialities fully. See the body
language of the person who is giving unsolicited advice, and judge the nature of
the advice through your eye-contacts.

Judge the merit of the advice by deeply introspecting your work contribution, and
assessing your weaknesses, if any. We generally think that we are flawless in
our work, and others are inferior.

Judge the merit of the advice based on track-record of the person who is giving
the advice. Does he have a credible reputation? Has he been the change-maker in
the organisation? For how much time do you know the person? What is your
comfort level with that person? If the person doesn’t have any reputation, his
unsolicited advice should not be taken seriously.

Unsolicited
genuine as well as sincere advice, given to an
employee helps build up organizational trust in following ways;

It helps in removing unnecessary ego, and
paves the way for genuine dialogue.

It helps in de-bureaucratising organizational
structure, and brings in openness.

It helps in building up trust between two people, which extends
beyond organizational boundaries.

It motivates the person who is receiving the
advice, to himself seek further advice, which ultimately helps in building up
his personality. Over a period of time, he will be a better performer, and self-reliant to find
solutions himself. He will implement the advice in a best spirit.

Unsolicited
advice, if given from a sense of arrogance, or with a false sense of power s harmful in following
ways;

The receiver simply listens to the advice. He
becomes a passive listener. He does not implement the advice. He is smart
enough to understand that the person giving unsolicited advice is not genuine
in intentions. This destroys the trust between two persons.

The receiver feels that the person giving
unsolicited advice is forcing his views on other person. This again destroys
the chances of emergence of trust in a
natural way.

I am not an advocate
of giving unsolicited advice in organizations. But, tendency to give unsolicited
advice is more related to human
psychology, which can not be curbed. It
is a reality in today’s organizations, where tackling relationship management issues
have become very complex. My intention through this post is to merely highlight
the pros and cons of this issue, so that a clear picture emerges.

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About Me

I am a writer primarily on cooperatives based in Delhi.I like to write on other issues which are close to my heart.The issue of trust is very significant for me.I consider 'trust' as a key element for not only human relationships,but also for successful organisational as well as developmental initiatives.With MPhil in International Relations from JNU,I have keen interest in analysing issues from an inter-disciplinary perspective.You can contact me at svvermas318@gmail.com